


Just As Right As Volleyball

by tryslora



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Kageyama Tobio, Background Relationships, Canon - Manga, Getting Together, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, POV Kageyama Tobio, Post-Canon, Pro Volleyball Player Kageyama Tobio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22965493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryslora/pseuds/tryslora
Summary: Five times Kageyama watched couples come together, and the one time his brain thought something other than "volleyball" at just the right moment.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 28
Kudos: 161
Collections: Haikyuu!!, My Favorite Fics





	Just As Right As Volleyball

**Author's Note:**

> Eek, it's my first fic in this fandom! Many thanks to littlemstpk for giving me a read through. Any mistakes that remain are totally my own!
> 
> This fic runs from the beginning of second year and past the end of the manga (chapter 384 as of this writing), so it is totally spoilerific for both manga and of course the anime.
> 
> In the end notes I talk about some of my influences in designing the legal/marriage aspects that are talked about in the fic, in case you're curious why I made the choices I did.

** _June 2013 - early in second year_ **

“Toss for me!” Hinata calls out as he rushes back onto the court.

Tobio nods—of course he will, and he knows Hinata knows this. He tosses the ball lightly, letting it spin in the air above his hands. Off to the side, everyone else is cleaning up, Yachi watching them curiously as she gathers balls back into the bin.

Tsukki looks at where they stand on the court and rolls his eyes. “Tch,” he mutters, and leaves the broom leaning up against the wall. “Are you coming, Yamaguchi?”

“One moment.” Yamaguchi seems all arms and legs, not quite having adjusted to the most recent centimeters grown over break. As they adjust to this new team with their new first years, and without Daichi, Sugawara, and Asahi, Yamaguchi seems to struggle more with figuring out how his own body works.

His jump floater is killer, though.

Yamaguchi approaches Yachi slowly. “May I ask you a question?” he asks, his voice low and polite.

Hinata skids to a stop next to Tobio, his sneakers squeaking against the floor. “I want to try that jump again. I think I can get a better ba-DUMP, if I—” He cuts off when Tobio swings a hand out, smacking him in the chest. It’s not where Tobio means to hit, but it works to silence Hinata, surprisingly enough.

Yachi’s gaze swings to Tobio and Hinata with a small squeak. Her hands are clutched in front of her chest, and for just a moment Tobio wonders if she’s just startled or if she’s still a little afraid of them all. He thought they’d become friends.

He approaches carefully, his hands out and reaching for the bin of balls. “We’ll take these,” he says, dropping the one he carries in on top of the others. Yachi nods as Tobio retreats back to the court.

Yamaguchi makes a small noise, and Tobio’s attention turns back to see Yachi watching him. “Oh,” she says. “Of course. What did you want to ask?”

A flush stains Yamaguchi’s cheeks under his freckles. He hunches down, although it doesn’t do a thing to bring him closer to Yachi’s height. “Would you like to walk with me to get udon?” he asks.

Yachi makes a high pitched noise, and her cheeks flush brightly to rival Yamaguchi’s. She nods several times quickly before managing to say, “Yes. Yes, I would like to get udon with you. Walk with you.”

“We can eat,” Yamaguchi says quickly. “Udon. Both of us.” He nods as well and that sets Yachi all over again.

“Are you—” Yachi cuts off as her voice breaks. She’s grinning ear to ear when she waves at Tobio and Hinata. “Are you both all right here on your own?”

Hinata waves wildly back. “Of course we are. We’re always here on our own, aren’t we?”

Yachi giggles. When she turns away, Yamaguchi is holding her jacket for her, and they head out together.

Hinata takes one of the balls out of the bin and passes it to Tobio. “What are you waiting for? Toss to me. I want to try that ba-DUMP for the cross.”

Something’s not quite right here, and Tobio thinks he knows what it is. “Yachi and Yamaguchi are going on a date,” he says slowly. “Weren’t you interested in her?” Because if something upsets Hinata, that could screw with the energy of the entire team.

Hinata turns around, eyes wide. “What? Oh no, she’s my best friend, and I’m really happy for her. I think she really likes him. Besides, I—” He cuts off, mouth snapping shut as he races across the court, ending up in the back center. “I’ll run up from here,” he calls out.

Tobio is confused. “What?” When Hinata points from where he stands to the place where he wants to spike the cross shot, Tobio shakes his head. “I mean what were you going to say?”

Hinata’s face is almost as red as his hair. “Never mind. Just toss for me and stop talking, okay?”

Tobio feels like he’s missed something completely, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. What matters if volleyball, and it’s easy to fall into the rhythm of toss and spike with Hinata. That’s what they do.

** _January 2014 - the end of the Spring Inter-High, second year_ **

They go out in the third round of the Spring Inter-High tournament, losing to Inarizaki.

Coach Ukai and Takeda Sensei don’t give them any time to mope. Yachi packs everything quickly while talking excitedly to Shimizu, who came from her college classes in order to watch. They find themselves out the door before they have a chance to collapse beneath the weight of the loss, and packed into seats around a table, food place in front of them.

Hinata sits with his head bowed until the meat appears. His nostrils flare, and he claps his hands together abruptly, bowing politely as he yells out, “Thank you for the food!” in concert with Nishinoya.

They fall on it like starving mongrels.

Tobio is hungry, but the food tastes like ash. They were supposed to do better and go further this year. This was the year to take it all and prove how good they are.

He needed this. Needs this.

His hand curls around his chopsticks, making a fist against the table.

Hinata tilts sideways, bumping into him roughly. “We’ve got next year,” he says cheerfully. “You haven’t beaten me yet.”

Tobio knows that isn’t true. He’s been back to All-Japan Youth Training Camp. He knows that eyes are on him to be a part of the Olympic team in two years. No one watches Hinata.

No one knows Hinata like Karasuno does.

No one knows Hinata like Tobio does.

“Look.” Hinata points and Tobio reflexively reaches to push Hinata’s hand down because he’s being rude.

Hinata fights back, of course, and some rice is spilled before Tobio realizes what Hinata was actually pointing at.

Tanaka’s anger at losing has fallen away, replaced by slumped shoulders and a lowered head. Shimizu sits next to him, her hand over his. Even from across the table, Tobio hears the soft, “Ryu,” when she uses his given name.

When did that happen?

Yachi leans over, and Tobio instinctively pulls back so she can lean in front of him, closer to Hinata. “They’re good friends now,” she whispers. “She was nervous about going to college and not knowing anyone, and Tanaka said he’d fight anyone who tried to hurt her, and she said she didn’t need anyone to fight for her, but she wouldn’t mind a friend. He backed off right away and now they email all the time, and talk on the phone. He was really angry after that practice match we had with Shiratorizawa—you know the one.”

Tobio remembers that one. Tanaka had his reasons to be angry.

“I told Kiyoko and she called Tanaka and it was like he just turned into a gentle kitten for her.” Yachi claps her hands softly. “It’s so sweet, really.”

Tanaka.

Sweet.

Those are two words Tobio never thought about fitting into the same sentence. It’s like saying Hinata and calm together.

“I can see it,” Hinata says, and Yachi nods quickly before retreating back into her seat.

Hinata grabs for the rice and meat and fills Tobio’s plate before pushing it at him. “Eat,” he orders again.

Tobio picks up his chopsticks and eats while watching Tanaka and Shimizu’s quiet conversation. Maybe he can see it, too. Maybe Tanaka has grown up. Changed. Maybe nobody knows Tanaka like Shimizu.

** _January 2015 - the start of the Spring Inter-High, third year_ **

Stepping into the gym at the Spring Inter-High feels a little like coming home. This is their third year—their final year—and while Hinata is still leaping around as if it’s all new, Tobio feels welcome here. He breathes in the air and exhales, feeling tension slip from his bones. This is where they belong.

The first round isn’t easy, but it feels good. Karasuno clicks in that way that the team does when they work well together, and they take it in straight sets. As the last point hits the floor on the other side of the net, Hinata propels himself upward, one fist punched into the sky as he yells.

Tobio turns, offers a hand to Yamaguchi for a high five. “Nice serve,” Tobio says, and Yamaguchi grins, because he knows that was a hell of a service ace.

They thank the coaches and the other team, and by the time they are leaving the court, Hinata has somehow already made it to the sidelines and is gesturing to someone Tobio doesn’t recognize at first. He’s almost familiar, but something’s not quite right, and it takes him a moment to realize that Kozume’s hair has grown out enough that the light color is completely gone. But that’s definitely his body language, with the slightly slumped shoulders and the air of disinterest, despite the way his body leans towards Hinata while he listens.

Hinata claps a hand on Kozume’s shoulder. “Did you see—oh, Kageyama! Come over here! Kenma and Kuroo came to watch us play! They’re staying for the tournament!”

“Tetsurou said I should come instead of watching it online while I work,” Kozume says idly, his gaze shifting toward the door. “You both played well.”

“I heard you cheering,” Hinata says, grinning.

Kozume’s gaze switches back to him, brow furrowing. “You did not.”

“I did,” Hinata says, nudging him. “You expended energy on our match.”

Kozume sighs deeply. “You always make me work for it.”

“You moved!” The shout comes from the door, where people are filing out but somehow Kuroo is pushing his way just inside the door and motioning in what feels like a very loud movement to Tobio. If movements could be loud.

No, that isn’t an if. Hinata is always loud in his movement. It makes sense, even if Kuroo feels different when he does it. He’s more emphatic, and his attention is entirely on Kozume.

Kozume makes another small, irritated noise. “We should go into the hall. Do you need to be with your team?”

Hinata makes a complicated series of gestures, and Yamaguchi is signaling back in a way that Tobio interprets as _go on, we’ll catch up in a bit_, and then Hinata grabs onto Tobio’s wrist and pulls. “Come on, let’s go.”

Kozume meets Tobio’s gaze and Tobio sees long-patient understanding there. Hinata has that effect on everyone, Tobio supposes.

Kuroo pulls the door wider as they approach, and they all spill out, finding a place out of the way where Kozume can sit down. Kuroo stands in front of him, blocking him from the view of the casual passersby.

“It wasn’t easy, but I knew he wanted to come,” Kuroo says.

“I wanted to watch, Tetsurou,” Kozume corrects him. “I could have done that in my office.”

“You wouldn’t have had as much fun,” Kuroo reminds him, smirking. “And Hinata wouldn’t have been able to hear you cheering.”

“Wasn’t it a great game?” Hinata crouches down in front of Kozume, and starts doing an active replay of every move while Kozume nods and replies when appropriate.

Tobio has a feeling this could take a while and he has no idea why he’s even here.

Kuroo clears his throat, and Tobio glances at him. Kuroo nods his head at Hinata, and Tobio shakes his head, unclear what he means.

Hinata reaches out, grips Kozume’s hands and turns them palm up as if trying to show him something by making him repeat a gesture. They are close, and Tobio knew that. He’s known that since their first year at Karasuno, when Hinata and Kozume became unlikely friends. But this seems almost intimate, and Tobio feels awkward to observe it.

He takes a step backwards. “You don’t need me here.”

Hinata looks up, eyes wide and startled. He shoots to his feet, almost knocking Tobio in the nose as he grabs for his shirt, keeps him in place. “Of course we do! We’re telling Kenma—”

“I was there. I saw the whole match,” Kozume points out.

Kuroo sinks to sit next to Kozume, one hand dropping to touch his back. He leans in, and this—this posture is intimate in ways that Hinata and Kozume weren’t. It leaves an odd twist in Tobio’s gut. “They probably need to get back to their team,” he says quietly to Kozume. “Don’t worry, Hinata, we’ll be there for the next match.”

“I’m glad you came!” Hinata spins around, capturing Tobio’s wrist again, pulling him along for a step before Hinata stops and looks back. “Wait, did you say—”

“After you graduate,” Kozume says. “Come talk to me.”

Tobio tries to sort it in his mind. Kozume and Hinata versus Kozume and Kuroo. His gut twists uncomfortably again, and he thinks that maybe he should be like Hinata and head for the bathroom. He’s never felt ill during a match before. He lowers one hand to his stomach, twists his jersey between his fingers.

“Are you okay?” Hinata asks, his hand dropping away from Tobio’s arm.

“Fine.” He’s always fine. This is the Spring Inter-High and he’s at home here. Everything’s fine.

“I’m glad Kuroo convinced Kenma to come out. Kenma spends so much time working and Kuroo’s really good for him.”

“They’re good friends,” Tobio says. “Like you’re good friends with him.”

Hinata gives him an odd look, head tilted. “They’re not like me and Kenma,” he says quietly. “They’re more than friends.”

Oh.

Tobio turns to look back, but Kozume and Kuroo are already gone, swallowed by the crowd. He’d thought… “But you—”

“Kenma has a business idea for me,” Hinata says cheerily. “Kuroo’s worried he’ll overstretch himself when he’s just starting out, but we’re going to talk. It might not be anything. I’m glad Kenma’s got Kuroo to take care of him.” He grins at Tobio. “We all need someone to keep us in grounded, right?”

Tobio can’t imagine anyone keeping Hinata grounded. Hinata flies, and that’s what he’s meant to do. Tobio certainly isn’t the one keeping him on the ground. When they’re on the court, it’s his job to make sure he flies even higher than before.

** _April 2015 - after graduation_ **

When Tobio receives the invitation to Tanaka and Shimizu’s wedding, there is a note written in Shimizu’s familiar handwriting attached to it saying simply, “You are family.”

Tanaka added, “Damn right!” in an almost illegible scrawl next to it.

That means that when family gathers for the small Shinto ceremony to join their lives together, it includes several of those from Karasuno during Tobio’s first year on the team. He feels awkward and out of place, but he is also proud to stand with the others who formed such a strong part of his life, and it feels right to be there.

“I mean, volleyball did bring them together,” Hinata whispers at one point, before Yachi shushes him.

At the end, Saeko is clutching Yachi to her chest, and Yachi giggles as Saeko cries. “Ryū is all grown up!”

They adjourn to the dinner and speeches, but the party truly begins when Saeko takes the team and the happy couple to the Karasuno Eatery for the after party. They are joined by more to help celebrate, taking over the place which has been closed in honor of Tanaka and Shimizu. Yachi grabs Yamaguchi and leads the way to a table near the door, leaving the warmer tables open for their elders. Tsukishima trails in their wake, his gaze resting on where his brother sits with Tenma, and Saeko leans over, flushed as she brings them sake and ramen.

Hinata nudges Tobio, and they follow along. It’s their year in entirety, together and a little apart, all at once.

“Tsukki.” Yachi draws his name out, long and a little louder than she normally would be, her cheeks flushed with the warmth of drink. Her hand rests atop the table, fingers tangled comfortably with Yamaguchi’s. “Are your brother and Saeko—?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Tsukishima mutters.

Yachi giggles. “Does she crush him to her breasts as well? She has very nice breasts. Not that I am at all interested in them right now.” She pats Yamaguchi’s hand and he captures her fingers to hold them on the table.

“Were you?” Hinata asks curiously.

Tobio knocks Hinata’s knee with his own under the table. That wasn’t appropriate.

Yachi leans closer to Hinata and whispers loudly, “She really has very, very nice breasts. Sometimes I wanted to have ones like hers. Sometimes I just wanted to admire them. But Shi—”

“Sake,” Yamaguchi offers, raising the glass and pressing it to her lips. Yachi cuts off and takes the glass, gulping it down.

“Kanpai!” she shouts, and from across the room Saeko echoes the word.

Tobio thinks that maybe Yachi could do with a little less sake, not more.

Saeko carries over a set of glasses and sets them down with a loud thunk, distributing one to each of them. “Drink a toast to my wonderful brother and his beautiful wife who is far too intelligent to have ever ended up with him,” she shouts, raising the last glance in her own hand. “To Ryū!”

“To Ryū!” they all echo. The sake burns Tobio’s throat, but it goes down smoothly after that, the heat spreading through him.

“So.” Saeko leans on the table. Tobio sits back, not wanting to end up with a face full of Saeko’s chest. “Yachi! When are you going to make Yamaguchi an honest man?”

Yamaguchi is dark red under his freckles, and Yachi bursts into laughter. “We just graduated, Saeko. It’s too soon to get married.”

“You have been together longer than Ryū and Kiyoko,” Saeko points out in a loud whisper. “Why not? When you know what’s right, you know.”

Yamaguchi glances sideways at Yachi, squeezing her hand where their fingers still lie entangled on the table. “Someday, maybe. We don’t need to rush into anything.”

Yachi tilts sideways, her chair budged up close to Yamaguchi’s so she can rest her head on his shoulder. “We still have college. And so much life ahead of us. There is plenty of time.”

There is, somehow, one glass of sake undrunk on the table. Hinata grabs it and holds it up, “To waiting for the right time!” he calls out, and drains the glass dry.

“Saeko.”

Tobio inwardly winces because it’s always awkward to have both Tsukishima brothers together. He feels awkward calling his teammate either Tsukki or Kei, despite the familiarity they’ve gained over three years as teammates. But it’s worse to call the elder Tsukishima by his given name. Every time they are in the same place, he has to readjust his own inner ways of thinking.

And it seems as if the elder Tsukishima has been with them more often than not, as they’ve done what they could to support Tanaka and Shimizu ahead of the wedding, and he seems to be where Saeko is.

Saeko straightens up abruptly, turning to put her hands on the elder Tsukishima’s shoulders. “I’m not doing anything,” she says.

The elder—

Screw it. Nobody would even know if Tobio calls them Akiteru and Tsukki in his head, and his brain feels muddled after repeated toasts to the happy couple. It would have to do.

Akiteru’s smile is somewhere between fond and terrified, and Tobio almost feels for him. That’s a little how he feels when Hinata is bouncing around, entirely too joyful and energetic.

“Come drink water with me,” Akiteru says, his hand light upon Saeko’s shoulder as he tugs her back from the table.

“I can hold my alcohol!” Saeko shouts out.

“Kanpai!” Yachi yells back, raising an empty glass.

“If I drank as much as you did, I would die,” Akiteru says, his smile slightly wider. “But water is still good. Send someone else with more sake and water for the kids.”

Tsukki rolls his eyes. “We are not children,” he points out. “Saeko was just trying to tell Tadashi and Hitoka that they should be married.”

“It would be sad if they were married before me. Ryū was married before me,” Saeko whispers.

“You said you’re too independent and never getting married until you find a man who can drink you under the table,” Akiteru quietly reminds her. “Your Taiko group is setting up. Shouldn’t we go?”

Delight lights Saeko’s expression. “Yes! We should! We’ll set up another toast as well!”

As they head off, Hinata leans back, arms crossed. “Did you ever think we’d be here?” he asks. His hands bounce around, indicating where Tanaka and Shimizu sit off to one side, their hands clasped and heads bent close as they whisper to each other, then pointing to where Yamaguchi is offering water to Yachi, while Tsukki looks on.

“No,” Tobio answers honestly. It’s so far from the court that it feels alien to him, and under the haze of sake, he’s not sure it even all makes complete sense. “It feels like everything’s changing.”

“Some things are staying the same.” Hinata tilts closer to Tobio. “You’re still playing volleyball.”

That is one thing that Tobio can hold on to. He’ll start practice with the Adlers soon, and the familiarity of the court under his feet and the ball in his hands is all he needs. “I’m going on ahead,” he says. He’s got the Adlers now, and he’s absolutely certain that when Japan heads to the Olympics in another year, he’ll be on the team.

Hinata is strangely quiet in response.

Tobio looks over at him, frowning deeply. “What?”

Hinata startles. “Oh. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. I still have to beat you. Just give me time; I’ll figure out how. I’ve got a plan.”

Something warm like sake coils around Tobio’s heart, threading through his muscles and leaving him lax and happy at that response. “Good,” he says. “Because right now I’m going on ahead.”

He needs to rely on the fact that no matter how much Tobio moves on, Hinata’s only one step behind an always racing to get ahead.

** _July 2016 - the Rio de Janiero Olympics, in Brazil_ **

Everything in his life has led to this moment.

Tobio stands on the edge of the court, looking out at the floor, the net, the stands, at the rings that adorn the wall on the opposite side.

He’s seen the articles, despite not wanting to read his own press.

_Prodigy setter Kageyama Tobio joins his teammate, super Ace Ushijima Wakatoshi, on the Japan National Team at the Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where they will bring their steady strength and quick attacks to the international competition. They are the pride of Japan, and Japan relies upon them to bring home the gold._

He smiles at it.

This, this is where he’s meant to be. This is where volleyball has taken him, where every step he has ever made has led to.

He turns so that the rings are at his back and raises his phone, switching the camera into selfie mode. He smirks as he takes the picture and sends it, typing, _I am here and you are not_.

There’s no longer any reason to point out that he’s going on ahead. Tobio plays volleyball professionally, and for Japan. Hinata leaps about on the sand and in the sun in Brazil. Hinata knows how far ahead Tobio has gone, and he is still in Brazil, falling further behind.

There is no answer, but it isn’t much of a surprise. After all, it is still early morning as the first matches of the games begin. While Tobio is ready to step out on the courts, Hinata is probably still sleeping off a late night with his beach volleyball friends.

Tobio checks one more time, just in case, then deliberately closes the messaging app and puts his phone in the pocket of his jacket. He spots Ushijima change direction to head towards him, and he waits. They should talk strategy, go over what Tobio gleaned from watching their opponents in other matches.

Ushijima raises his left hand in greeting. As soon as he is close enough for low conversation, he says, “Tendou is in the stands.”

Tobio blinks, switching away from his mental readiness to talk strategy, to think instead about who is there to see them play. “Oh?”

“He said he has to see for himself how we fare against the giants of the world. Tch.” Ushijima shakes his head. “He thinks we will be intimidated, but we have been taught by the small ones how to fly.”

Compared to most in Japan, Ushijima and Tobio are tall, but Tobio knows that there are international teams that make them like children. “The tallest player on the American team is 20 centimeters taller than you,” he says. He can name them all. Their heights, their handedness, their strengths and weaknesses.

Ushijima gives him a look. “You were 20 centimeters taller than Hinata when you first started to play,” he points out. “I was more.”

Tobio touches his pocket where his phone lies silent. “I was,” he agrees.

Ushijima surveys the stands, then points to where a banner flies stating _I <3 you, Wakatoshi!_ “He’s sitting with Chris.” He hesitates, a fond exasperation in his voice as he adds, “The banner belongs to Tendou.”

Of course it does. Tendou has always believed that anything that could be done should be done as wildly as possible. Chris is reserved in public, although Tobio has seen how gregarious he is after drinks, when he links hands with Ushijima and whispers to him. “I still can’t believe you are with an American.”

“We are partnered,” Ushijima reminds him, and of course Tobio remembers; he attended the ceremony just a month ago. “I am glad that Chris came to Japan to teach English, and I am very glad that we met.”

Ushijima’s relationship sticks out to Tobio, like a little knot in a plank that doesn’t quite fit. It’s not that Chris is a man, nor even that he’s an American teaching English at Tobio’s old high school. It’s that he has nothing at all to do with volleyball.

And yet he and Ushijima fit.

Tobio can’t reconcile it yet, and he’s not sure if he ever will.

His phone vibrates. He has it in his hand and unlocked, Hinata’s text open before he thinks about it. A picture of Hinata at a table with several empty glasses stares back at him. Hinata has one hand up, waving, with his other arm around Oikawa’s shoulders. They lean too close together, both with cheeks warmed from drink and expressions loose from the lateness of the hour. It must have been taken the night before.

_That’s okay,_ Hinata replied. _The King might be at the Olympics, but I have the Great King here with me._ There’s a pause and while Tobio stares at the image, another text comes in. _Bring home gold for Japan! _

“I had heard that Oikawa came here to Brazil,” Ushijima says.

Tobio’s thumb stutters across his screen, closing the messaging app. “I hadn’t.” He looks at his phone a moment longer before shoving it in his pocket. When he looks up, Ushijima is watching him, brow furrowed.

Tobio stares back.

Ushijima’s expression smoothes out. “We should warm up.” He claps Tobio on the back as he walks by him heading for the court.

Tobio’s gaze drifts back to the stands, where Tendou and Chris are rolling up the banner. They look small and far away, but Tobio can still recognize how Chris ensures that Tendou is putting the banner away to behave properly.

He sees something red flash nearby, and his gaze shifts, heart hammering as he watches the person navigate towards Tendou and Chris. A hand raises, but no, they pass on by, greeting others in the stands.

Tobio doesn’t know what he’s thinking. They may be in the same country, but there is no reason to expect Hinata to be here and watching. This is Tobio’s time. Let Hinata play in the sun and sand with Oikawa. Tobio will move on ahead of them both.

** _November 2018 - the Black Jackals play the Schwieden Adlers_ **

Tobio can’t sit still. He’s warmed up. He’s ready.

The game isn’t starting yet.

The meeting in the men’s room hadn’t helped. He’d known Hinata would be there, and spotting him in Black Jackals uniform made his heart hammer faster. They’re on opposite sides of the court again, for the first time since they graduated.

Hinata is finally catching up.

All that’s left is the final leg of the race. This time the winner decides it.

This time.

They are introduced and go out on the court. People are cheering, but Tobio is distracted. He deals with his teammates, with the mascot, with the small children, but the entire time one eye is on the Black Jackals as they come in. Bokuto. Miya Atsumu.

Hinata.

When they step up to shake hands, it’s only right that they’re paired together. Hinata grins and Tobio smirks in return. Neither of them has to say it.

_I’m going to win_.

All that’s left is to play the game.

#

Somewhere in the middle of the third set, Hinata goes down hard. Tobio doesn’t see exactly what happens; he thinks Hinata tangled his foot when switching directions, and jumped off-balance. All he sees is the moment that Hinata and one of his teammates bounce off of each other, and Hinata’s the one who slams into the floor.

It’s a punch in the chest to see Hinata lying on the floor, uncharacteristically silent.

The whistle blows for a pause, and Tobio leans over, hands on his knees as he breathes. His body is angled as if he’s looking down, but he can watch sideways, out of the corner of his eye as they check on Hinata, helping him up and off the court.

He’s limping.

It can’t end like this.

Tobio fumbles his serve, and the coach calls for a substitution as soon as he can after that. He wants to argue, but he hears a low, “Kageyama,” from Ushijima, and that’s enough to make him keep his head high and walk off the court.

He sits on the bench slumped over, a cold towel over the back of his neck and his eyes closed. Someone sits down next to him, and Tobio grunts, not interested in talking. He missed a serve. It happens sometimes.

“It’s a sprain.” One of his teammates speaks, and Tobio isn’t even sure which one it is, the sound muffled by the towel over his ears.

Tobio grunts again in a clear _I don’t care_ kind of way.

“They’ve taken him to medical but I heard them say they’re going to wrap it and he’ll be back for the fourth set.” Whoever it is pushes off the bench and walks away, leaving Tobio alone.

Tobio pushes the towel away from his face, looks over at the Jackals’ bench. They were even going into the third set, and the match goes to five. There will definitely be a fourth set.

Good.

The whistle blows again as the Adlers take the third set without him, and his teammates come off the court. Ushijima comes straight to the bench and stands there, staring down at Tobio, as Hoshiumi comes up beside him. Hoshiumi quirks his head like a bird, and Tobio stands up, dropping the towel on the bench.

“I’m fine,” Tobio says. “Let’s win this next set.”

#

The match goes to five.

It goes to five, and it goes long, the five set stretching out past the end, past set point after set point. Tobio comes up to serve when the Adlers are at set point again, 37 to 36. When he looks across the court, he sees Hinata staring back at him. As he watches, Hinata slowly grins and says something Tobio doesn’t need to hear to understand.

“I’m going to win.”

Tobio hears the whistle. He spins the ball once in his hand, then exhales before he starts his approach. The jump serve goes over the net, aiming for the spot between the Jackals’ libero and another player. The player stands still while the libero slides over, puts up a perfect bump.

“Tch,” Tobio mutters under his breath.

Miya sets for Hinata’s quick, and Hoshiumi tries, but he can’t get under it in time. It hits the floor just inside the line.

In.

They’re even.

“Don’t mind,” Tobio calls out, and the team settles around him. They are all in tune, the perfect stable counter to the Jackals’ chaotic energy. The Adlers’ libero gets the serve easily, and Tobio take stock of the court in the blink of an eye. He has choices. Ushijima makes a small noise, while Hoshiumi is already jumping, ready for a quick. Tobio gets his hands up, tosses to Ushijima.

Somehow Hinata is there, of all people, his fingers just barely tipping the ball. He keeps it alive long enough for Sakusa to execute a perfect cross shot that hits the ground before the Adlers can react.

Break point. Set point for the Jackals.

Tobio catches Hinata’s eye. This isn’t the first time this set they’ve had a chance. He sees the glint and determination.

Hinata may be favoring that ankle—Tobio can see the tape keeping him on the court—but he’s not going to let that get in his way. It hasn’t slowed down his speed or his height.

Tobio hates to think how much it’s going to hurt when they’re done.

Thomas serves again, and the Adlers move into position. Bump, then Tobio is under it, picking the perfect set. Romero this time, and the ball slams over the net, the libero just barely getting his hands under it in an awkward bump.

The Jackals all start moving at once. Sakusa, Barnes, Bokuto and Hinata. Tobio knows this play like he knows how to breathe. His fingers itch uncomfortably, like he should somehow be the one setting for this.

He has to be wary.

He’s better than Miya, but Miya is good enough for this. It looks like he’ll go to Bokuto, but Tobio knows Hinata. He knows he’s the perfect decoy right until the moment when he becomes the unexpected attacker.

There’s a moment when Ushijima hesitates, when he shifts back towards Hinata, and Hinata leaps into the air.

Time stops and Tobio spots the set.

He races towards Bokuto, tries to get there, but the line shot is too fast and the team’s focus was on Hinata. The ball hits the ground, and the whistle blows.

“Wahoo!” Hinata jumps right back up, punching the air. “We won!”

Somehow Tobio hadn’t expected it to end like that.

It was supposed to be him and Hinata. It should have been Hinata’s hit that won the game.

He makes a frustrated, disgruntled noise, unable to summon the right words for this feeling that twists inside of him, like Hinata’s been cheated out of his true victory.

Hinata slowly turns, a wide smile lighting his eyes. “I beat you,” he says quietly. Firmly. “Bokuto made the shot, sure, but without me as a decoy, it would’ve been blocked. I beat you.”

It was never about them, in the end. It may have started that way, but at this point, it was all about the teams and bringing the team to victory.

That thought feels hollow, and Tobio thinks that maybe he’s the one who’s been cheated out of something, even if he can’t quite say what.

Still.

“Hinata.” He waits for him to turn, and he stands there, hands at his sides, and waits for Hinata to figure out what he means to do. As soon as Hinata catches on, he mirrors Tobio’s position from the other side of the net.

“You won,” Tobio says, and he bows slowly at the same time as Hinata.

It feels like an ending.

#

Tobio is the last to leave the locker room. The rest all out at the bus, waiting to go home, but he wants to linger in this place where it all started, once a long, long time ago. He stands in the hall and looks down toward the men’s room.

The door opens, and Hinata emerges.

Of course.

Hinata smiles slowly as he approaches. “Your team is waiting for you. It’s not like you to be late.”

“It’s exactly like you to be in the bathroom when you should be somewhere else,” Tobio retorts, and Hinata’s laugh rings out.

“I don’t have a nervous stomach anymore, but there’s something about ritual, you know what I mean?” Hinata’s stance is loose and easy, the exact opposite of the knots Tobio can feel twisting himself up. Hinata looks at him, the smile falling away. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Hinata takes another step closer, head tilted as he looks up. It’s almost the same way Hoshiumi looks at Tobio, that same tilt to the head because Tobio is still so much taller than him. But Hinata feels more certain when he does it. More sure of how Tobio will react.

Tobio doesn’t even know how he’ll react.

He takes a step back, then another as Hinata advances. Tobio ends up with his back against the wall, and Hinata so close that he can feel the rough exhalation against his neck when Hinata huffs out an annoyed breath.

Hinata jabs his chest. “This isn’t an ending,” he says.

“You beat me,” Tobio counters. They started with a rout where Tobio beat Hinata, and Hinata never stopped until he beat Tobio. He fell behind at times, yes, but he never once stopped.

Hinata falls back on his heels, something like disappointment in his expression. “Not everything is about volleyball.”

Everything is about volleyball. Of course it is.

That’s all it’s been for so long.

It’s been about volleyball, and Karasuno, and watching Hinata learn to fly.

It’s been about volleyball, and friendships, and finding a family that was also a team.

It’s been about volleyball, and bringing people together, and watching relationships form.

It’s always been about volleyball.

Hinata sighs and turns away.

“How do you like being back in Japan?” Tobio asks before Hinata can take a step.

Hinata turns back slowly, head tilted again, frowning as he watches Tobio, and Tobio isn’t sure what to do in the face of that regard. “I’m glad to be back,” Hinata says. “I had fun in Brazil, and I learned a lot. But the volleyball I love is here, and the—” He cuts off, presses his lips together. “The right people are here,” he says slowly.

“Your family,” Tobio says.

There’s a long silence, as if Hinata is expecting him to say something else. When Tobio doesn’t, Hinata clarifies, “All of my family. Blood and otherwise. All of my friends. Everyone I love.”

“It feels right that you’re back.” Tobio can manage that at least. There was a hole in his game while Hinata was gone. The Adlers were good. The Olympics were great. But there was always a Hinata shaped hole in how he played.

“I’m glad.” Hinata shoulders his back and starts heading for the front of the building. He moves slowly enough that Tobio can follow along, matching his smaller stride, and they can keep talking.

He wonders who Hinata came back for.

“You know, I always thought that you and Yachi—” Tobio cuts off when Hinata laughs again. “What?”

“I think Yamaguchi is waiting for the perfect moment to propose so that he can do it in front of Tsukki and make him absolutely disgusted by the display of affection,” Hinata says with another soft laugh. “Yachi is in on it. She gives him ideas, but they haven’t found the perfect time yet.” He shakes his head, the movement making his bag swing until it bumps into Tobio’s hip. “No, it was never about Yachi. She was always a good friend.”

Hinata inhales roughly, his steps speeding up. Tobio shifts easily, matching him step for step.

“What about you?” Hinata asks. Another notch and they’re speed walking, falling into competition as they move down the hall.

“I—”

It’s always been about volleyball.

I never had time to think of anything but…

Oh.

Tobio stops in his tracks and for a moment, he thinks Hinata is going to race on ahead and leave him behind, the way that Tobio’s always done for him. His breath goes tight, and he wonders if this it, if this moment of realization is all he has.

Then Hinata skids to a halt, spinning at the same time. “What?” he asks.

“It’s always been about volleyball,” Tobio says, and Hinata’s expression goes blank. “That’s—I mean. It’s always been about volleyball,” he repeats. “And it’s always been about you.”

Hinata blinks. “It’s always been about me.”

Tobio makes snap decisions based on reading the court, and in that moment, he thought he’d made the right one. He can see the ball hitting the top of its arc, and Hinata isn’t there to spike it.

Tobio nods slowly. “Yes.”

“Phew.” Hinata’s eyes close, his entire body relaxing. “Good. Because for me, it’s always been about you.”

And just like that, Hinata’s there, his hand on the ball even though his eyes are closed in that perfect trust. Their freak quick, and the ball strikes the floor on the other side.

Because they were always meant to do this together.

Even if right now they’re going to do it from opposite sides of the court.

“Kageyama?” Hinata says slowly, edging closer to him. “Tobio? Did you go mute from shock? Did I hear you wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

Tobio shakes his head. “No, it was right. I was just imagining it like the perfect play, set and spike. We always did work well together.”

“So well that it took us an extra three years to read each other well enough to get to this point,” Hinata quips. His cheeks are flushed as he looks up. “So. What next?”

“We get on our team buses and go home,” Tobio says, because there’s nothing else they can do at this point. “After that—we figure out the rest. But we go forward together.”

Hinata holds one hand out, and Tobio takes it, awkwardly holding on but reveling in how right it feels. “Neither one of us goes on ahead,” Hinata agrees.

“From now on we fly together.”

And that feels just as right as volleyball ever did.

**Author's Note:**

> References!
> 
> I fell down a rabbit hole reading about Japanese weddings, and all the various permutations that they can take. I decided on a small traditional wedding for the family only, but Shimizu and Tanaka fought their parents and defined exactly who they decided were considered family for the ceremony and the dinner after. The party in the scene is the after-party I found referenced in many write-ups, and it seemed only right that Saeko would manage to secure her place of work for that, and that they would all gather there, because it was just such a part of their story in the first place.
> 
> When Ushijima references his partnership, that is based on my friend's recent ceremony with his long-term boyfriend where they had their partnership recognized in the eyes of their city.
> 
> You can find me (mostly silent) on Tumblr as [tryslora](http://tryslora.tumblr.com) and on Pillowfort as [tryslora](https://www.pillowfort.io/tryslora). I also write original fiction! If you like my fic, you might like my original twice-weekly series [Welcome to PHU](http://welcometophu.tumblr.com) (also mirroring on Pillowfort at [Welcome to PHU](https://www.pillowfort.io/community/WelcomeToPHU)).


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